​Renee Young will be stepping in for Jonathan Coachman on the Raw announce team as a guest commentator this Monday night, ESPN.com reports. Coachman, meanwhile, will be fulfilling another obligation.

Young will work alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves for all three hours of the broadcast, making this the first time a woman has called an entire episode of Raw.Don’t miss Renee Young’s historic Raw announce team debut live this Monday at 8/7 C on USA Network.

Kofi Kingston shared the following statement on-line about the reinstatement of Hulk Hogan into the WWE. The statement was also retweeted by Big E and Xavier Woods (transcription credit should go to Dominic DeAngelo of WrestleZone.com):

To the WWE Universe and whoever else it may concern:

This will be the only statement we will make regarding Hogan’s reinstatement into WWE’s Hall of Fame. We do not wish to spend the energy debating the point, because between our kids, our external ventures, and this job, our energy is spread thin already, lol.

We are only writing this simply to provide an answer to the many who have bombarded us with questions on where we stand on the issue.

We preface this statement by emphasizing that this is our own opinion and may not necessarily reflect the opinion of anyone else affected.

How do we feel? Indifferent. We are not happy, or sad, angry or resentful. Who WWE puts in the HOF is totally and completely up to the company and from a career standpoint, there is no argument on whether or not Hogan should have his place. We have no problem with his re-induction in the slightest degree. It is impossible to even begin to mention the history and evolution of the business without mentioning his name and accolades.

On a personal level, when someone makes racist and hateful comments about any race or group of people, especially to the degree that Hogan made about our people, we find it difficult to simply forget, regardless of how long ago it was, or the situation in which those comments were made. But we also do not respond with more feelings of hate. Instead, we just do not associate with the people who convey or have conveyed this negative and hurtful mindset. This instance will be no different. Perhaps if we see him make a genuine effort to change, then maybe our opinion will change with him. Time will tell.

Through the course of our lives, people have used racist comments towards us and it doesn’t feel good. But if we stopped moving forward everytime were met with prejudicial hatred, then we would have never achieved our current accomplishments.

We know we are worth it, we know our kids our worth it, and most importantly, we know that people that look like us are worth it and always haven been. There isn’t a person on this planet who will ever be able to say anything to make us think otherwise because we believe in ourselves as a people and don’t need anyone’s approval on that, regardless of who they are.

Having said that, his reinstatement won’t change anything for us. It will have zero effect on our ability to perform or the level of effort will will put in doing what we love to do, and that is: To deliver an entertaining product each week for our fan base.

Sincerely,
– The New Day
​
“Never trade your authenticity for approval.”

Last night (July 7) in Las Vegas, Daniel Cormier was hot as hot can be. He walked into the arena with the UFC Light heavyweight Championship, and he left the arena also carrying the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Cormier became only the second fighter in history to hold both of those titles, the first being Connor McGregor.

Cormier win over former champ Stipe Miocic may not have been the biggest story to come out of the event, despite the impressive first round knockout. While celebrating his win, Cormier used the opportunity to call out his possible next opponent, current WWE Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar.

After seeing Lesnar in the crowd, Cormier took to the mic to get his rivals attention.

“Listen to DC! Listen to DC!” he said, referring to himself by his nickname. “There is a guy I’ve known a long time: A wrestler, an All-American, a former UFC heavyweight champion. Brock Lesnar, get your ass in here!”

That's all it took to get Lesnar to enter the octagon. During the jaw-jacking, Lesnar referred to Miocic as a piece of crap and then said to Cormier, “I’m coming for you mother [expletive]!”

As for a potential match-up, several sources are saying that Lesnar, who hasn't competed in the UFC since July 2016, is already in the USADA testing pool and may be ready to fight for the UFC as early as November 2018. That would set up massive PPV match-up at the UFC event planned for Madison Square Garden.

The world of music and the world of professional wrestling are no strangers. Whether it's the Rock N' Wrestling days of the 80's, the heavy metal of the Attitude Era, or Hip Hop's current obsession with the squared circle, pro wrestling and music go together like Money in the Bank. So when the Undertaker showed up to a Post Malone concert in Austin, Texas, it was no big surprise, but what we were treated to may have been.

In what seemed like a prerecorded back stage segment, Post Malone ran into the Deadman only to be greeted with one of his signature moves. As the Undertaker turned around, he grabs Post Malone by the throat and chokeslams him to hell as the cameras go out. You can check the video out below.

Later in the night, the Deadman returned to hit the stage with fellow guest, rapper 21 Savage. Together they teamed up with Malone to smash some guitars on stage.

According to reports from Pro Wrestling Sheet, 2KSports and the WWE have chose current WWE Champion AJ Styles to grace the cover of WWE 2K19. In addition to the cover star being named, the pre-order DLC is said to be none other than Rowdy Ronda Rousey.

Apparently, both Styles and Rousey were part of a cover reveal commercial shoot this past week in Memphis. You may recall that the WWE did the same thing last year with cover star Seth Rollins and DLC superstar Kurt Angle.

In addition to those names being revealed, it was also reported that WCW/WWE legend Rey Mysterio was also present for the shoot. Mysterio most recently has wrestled for New Japan, but he did take part in both the Royal Rumble and the Greatest Royal Rumble this year.

An official announcement with more game details is expected this coming Monday (June 18).

In a major from ESPN, it is being reported that the WWE has agreed to air SmackDown Live on Fox starting in October of 2019. The deal is reportedly for 5 years and $1.025 Billion ($205 Million/year). The will also reportedly move the air date to Friday night. This amount is three times what NBCUniversal pays to air SmackDown Live on the USA network.

The move for now will only affect SmackDown Live. The WWE reportedly reached a deal with NBCUniversal last week to continue airing Monday Night Raw on USA network. There's no word yet on how this will affect shows like NXT or 205 Live, which currently both air on the WWE Network.

​With WWE’s Money In The Bank (MiTB) PPV just under five weeks away, the card is just starting to take shape. We already know four of the eight participants in the men’s MITB match, and two of the eight women. Now we are starting to get an idea of the rest of the card.

While the WWE is touring Europe, two major title matches have been announced. The first one was a no-brainer as SmackDown Live commissioner announce a rematch between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship. While no stipulations have been announced yet, I am sure one will be added to ensure a clear winner.​The second match added may come as a bit of a shocker as Nia Jax will defend her Raw Women’s Championship against Ronda Rousey. The match came about after Jax issued a challenge to Rousey because she wants to prove herself against the best.

​A few years ago, if you were to tell me that the name Hulk Hogan would be taboo in the WWE, I would have said you're nuts. Hogan was and should still be a bigger than the industry icon and the WWE is the main reason why. Whether he was telling kids in the 80's to "Say your prayers, take your vitamins, and you'll never go wrong," or telling adults in the 90's that he was bringing in the "New World Order of Wrestling, Brother," the name Hogan was just always going to be around. Hogan even found away to sneak back in after WWE bought WCW, and he had a decent run then too. Hogan was destined to be an ambassador of the WWE 4 Life, but one word uttered during a night full of bad decisions caught on tape has proven to be his downfall. Some have said he would never recover from it, but the reality is, everyone is ready to welcome him back but Hogan himself continues to push himself away.

If you can't remember, or just choose to forget, what led to Hogan's latest fall from grace, and he has had quite a few over the years, it all stems from a sex tape that was obtained by Gawker and shown to the world. The tape, which was shared on the internet illegally, violating Hogan's right to privacy, triggered a huge lawsuit that Hogan would eventually win. The cost to Gawker was over $110 million, the cost to Hogan was far greater. During the trial, it was leaked that the fact that Hogan was recorded having sex with his best friend's wife wasn't the worse thing about the tape. As he and the woman involved had a conversation, Hogan explained his frustration over who is daughter chose to date. Below is what Hogan said, according to transcripts of the tape:

​“I don’t know if Brooke was f*cking the black guy’s son,” Hulk raved, the sources add.
“I mean, I don’t have double standards. I mean, I am a racist, to a point, f*cking n*ggers. But then when it comes to nice people and sh*t, and whatever.” ...
According to sources, he said: “I mean, I’d rather if she was going to f*ck some n*gger, I’d rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n*gger worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player!
“I guess we’re all a little racist. Fucking n*gger.”

Shortly after that transcript was released, Hogan was too, as the WWE terminated his contract. They even went as far as removing him from their Hall of Fame. It made sense at the time, still does today, but time usually heals all wounds. Over the past few months, the WWE has teased us with Hogan mentions and sayings, video footage and more. The WWE clearly wants him back, the wrestlers seem to want him back, and I believe fans want him back. So why isn't he back? Simply put, Hogan hasn't learned his lesson, and until he does, he will never truly be welcomed back.

Some may say he has learned from his mistakes, but if Hogan has, why does he continue to make the same one over and over again.

Recently, soon to be Hall-of-Famer Mark Henry said Hulk Hogan needs to apologize to the black wrestlers for his use of such a hurtful term. How did Hogan take this easy offer from one of WWE's most influential voices, he spit right in Henry's face. Hogan responded to Henry through TMZ saying he knows he must apologize, but not just to the black wrestlers, to all wrestlers. Hogan had a chance to do something good to kick off his road to redemption, but he instead decided that when someone essentially said "Black Wrestlers Matter", Hogan couldn't wait to reply with "No, All Wrestlers Matter." Within all of this, after almost three years, the one thing we still haven't got is a formal apology, to anyone.

When it's all said and done, I hope Hulk Hogan is once again a member of the WWE family. Hogan is the reason why my love of wrestling started, and for that I am forever grateful. He was an essential part of my childhood, just like many other fans out there, and missing him being around is ok. As much as we may want the WWE to embrace the Red & Yellow again, we have to understand that at this point, it may never happen. The WWE is a publicly traded company and does not want to align themselves with unapologetic racist. At the end of the day, no mater what he tries to say, Hogan is just that, he's unapologetic (it shouldn't take three years to say sorry) and he's a racist (by his own words). The WWE just doesn't have room for that in today's world.

Maybe things will change, maybe Hogan will see the light, but the ball is in his court. Only he can take the next step on this road to redemption. So I ask you, Mr. Hogan, What you gonna do, Brother!